Muslim Brotherhood supporters defy Egypt's government with Cairo protest

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/08/muslim-brotherhood-egypt-protest-cairo

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Hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood supporters chanted "Down with the military government" outside Cairo University on Tuesday, defying Egypt's army-backed authorities despite deadly clashes with security forces two days earlier.

Supporters of the deposed president Mohamed Morsi had urged university students to protest against the army after the violence on Sunday, one of Egypt's bloodiest days since the military ousted the Islamist leader on 3 July.

The death toll from Sunday's unrest rose to 57, state media said, with 391 people wounded.

The Muslim Brotherhood has accused the army of staging a coup and working with security forces to eliminate the group through violence and arrests, allegations the military denies.

"We are here standing against the coup," said Enas Madkour, a 19-year-old fine arts student at the march near Cairo University, where security forces had parked two tanks and blocked the main road with barbed wire.

"I'm against Morsi but I'm not for people killing others and I'm not for the military government we have now," said Madkour, who wore a headscarf, as most Muslim women do in Egypt.

Security forces detained 35 people in the area, security sources said.

Small-scale protests also occurred at Helwan University in southern Cairo. At Zagazig University, north-east of Cairo, pro-Brotherhood students clashed with residents and Brotherhood opponents with fists, sticks and stones, security sources said, and eight people were wounded.

Authorities have cracked down on the Brotherhood in recent weeks. Security forces killed hundreds of pro-Morsi protesters in Cairo in August and then arrested many Brotherhood leaders.

Along with political turmoil, a surge in militant attacks has hammered tourism, a main foreign currency earner.

Hours after gunmen killed a police officer and wounded another in Port Said on Tuesday, the interior ministry said Egypt may install security cameras at tourist sites to deter militants from targeting visitors.

"There's a security plan in place in tourist areas that will maintain stability in these areas," said an interior ministry spokesman, Hany Abdel Latif. "We expected all these problems because we are in a war against terrorism."

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